Alan Buckingham has never experienced a cyclone before, let alone a category five cyclone that is expected to be as powerful as Hurricane Katrina.

But now the Briton, who moved from Oxford to Cairns in north Queensland four years ago, is right in the path of Cyclone Yasi, the biggest and most deadly storm to hit Australia for more than a century.

Mr Buckingham, 48, and his Australian partner Jane Alcorn, 42, have set up a cyclone bunker in the garage beneath their home and plan to spend the next 24 hours sheltering there. The couple live in the Cairns suburb of Edge Hill, one mile north of the city centre, which is expected to be hit by winds of up to 185mph and a storm surge of 7ft.

"We have got quite a large garage which we have converted into a living area, we have got two beds down here, the radio and the TV and my partner has got the camping gear out," Mr Buckingham said.

"We've got a gas stove and we have cooked some meals that we can heat up later on, because they said we need to be prepared to be down here for up to 20 hours."

Ms Alcorn has lived in Queensland for 16 years and has experienced four cyclones, so she knows what to expect. The pair spent the day making their home as safe as possible and stocking up on food and essentials.

In preparation for the arrival of the severe tropical cyclone, they moved their outdoor furniture inside and piled their belongings into the safest room in their house.

"All of the courtyard furniture and the pot plants have been brought inside because we don't want them flying around in the wind," Mr Buckingham said.

"All of the beds upstairs have been broken down and we have put mattresses over the windows and piled all of the furniture into the en suite bathroom away from the windows."

Despite their thorough preparations, Mr Buckingham said he was concerned about the night ahead.

"I'm a little bit apprehensive, I know it is going to be worse further south but I am expecting there to be some damage here, I think we will probably lose the roof.

"I'm nervous because I haven't experienced it before."

Mr Buckingham said that winds were already blowing and the streets were deserted. However, Cairns residents were not panicking.

"It's a big storm, it's a big system, and if you go by what happened in Cyclone Larry there will be damage.

"But the locals are very nonchalant, they know what to expect and they are fairly confident. They know they will lose roofs from their homes, they are pretty much used to it.

"They will be sitting somewhere and seeing it through with a beer, these guys have seen it all before."

Mr Buckingham and Ms Alcorn are expecting to be joined by "three very nervous South Americans" who live in the building.

But Ms Alcorn has already banned them from freaking out during the height of the storm.

"There's no crying, no hysterics," she said. "It's going to be loud, it's going to be scary. But we've got each other."

Mr Buckingham is one of hundreds of Britons that are believed to be in north Queensland during the cyclone. The area is a popular tourist destination for backpackers and British families exploring the Great Barrier Reef and the state's tropical north. Some 135,000 Britons visit the region each year.

The British Consulate in Canberra has received several calls from Britons concerned about the extreme weather conditions, but no direct calls for help.

The consulate has issued a warning that urges any Britons in the cyclone impact zone to "remain indoors, stay calm, and follow the Queensland Government's cyclone advice".

In Townsville, British backpacker Stefan Marcello was sheltering in an evacuation centre in an underground carpark that was noisy, muggy and uncomfortable.

Mr Marcello was told to get out of Cardwell, which lies further north, but he said he had concerns about staying in the carpark during the cyclone.